Kindness and Compassion

Kindness and compassion are now attracting extensive interest and research across the globe, as modern medicine looks for more creative solutions to psychological and physical problems. The work of Professor Paul Gilbert, David Hamilton PhD, Deepak Chopra M.D, the research projects at Stanford University and others has now put kindness and compassion very firmly on the scientific map. The truth is that many of the ancient scholars and traditions such as Budhism, Confucianism and Hinduism, have long expounded these virtues, so these are not new concepts and ideologies. These great traditions have long valued the emotional, physical and spiritual benefits of these qualities.

Thankfully science and modern medicine are catching up with the fact that compassion and kindness are good both for the giver and the receiver in a multitude of ways. Einstein, and his contemporaries within the field of quantum physics, have helped us to understand that even in the act of observing something we are affecting it. We are always exuding energy and subject to the nature of our thoughts and intentions our energy is affecting and shaping our environment and relationships. So why not positively affect your environment with the gifts of kindness and compassion…. In this way you are serving yourself, others and the planet. A good example of how to practise and develop compassion in your life can be found in our 30 minute meditation called ‘Asking for Nothing’ – It’s extraordinarily popular and very powerful.

For those of you interested in exploring this subject further, you could take a look at the work of the Compassionate Mind Foundation at www.compassionatemind.co.uk and the extensive research of David Hamilton on kindness at www.drdavidhamilton.com. There is also some new and exciting research being undertaken and collated at Stanford University, well worthy of our attention – Judge for yourself….

“Greatness is not about doing great things, it’s about doing small things with great love”

The essentiality of compassion and warm heartedness – a lecture by His Holiness The Dalai Lama

Some of the latest research in compassion presented at Stanford University